purtlebloup

[purtlebloup]

Writing Platonic Relationships

When writing relationships between characters, one of the best things you can do as a writer is master the art of platonic relationships. Not every relationship has to turn romantic—and when done right, platonic bonds can hit harder than love stories.

But writing them well? That takes a lot of intentionally-written cues and dialogue. Here are just a few tips:

1. Establish emotional intimacy early

Platonic doesn’t mean distant. Let them see each other. Let one character be the first person the other calls when things go wrong. Show moments of vulnerability, casual care, and trust without flirty undertones. Let them have traditions, inside jokes, or quiet routines together.

2. Don’t hint at romance “just in case”

If you’re going for a purely platonic vibe, don’t toss in romantic tension as bait. It cheapens the relationship. Let them have chemistry that’s based in compatibility, not attraction. Not every deep bond needs a romantic subplot. Avoid unnecessary lingering glances or “almost touch” moments unless it’s 100% platonic context (e.g., comforting after a trauma).

3. Give them shared history or shared growth

Platonic duos feel real when we see how they’ve been through things together. Maybe they survived something. Maybe they just grew up side by side. What matters is that their connection isn’t shallow. Flashbacks, casual references to “remember when,” or unspoken teamwork go a long way.

4. Let them be physically close without it meaning more

One character leaning on the other’s shoulder. Braiding hair. Holding hands in a high-stress moment. All of this can be platonic when framed right. Normalize physical affection without romantic framing. You could show how each character interprets the touch. If it’s comfort or instinct—not attraction—it’s platonic.

5. Use other characters to reinforce it

Have others in the story acknowledge the bond without assuming it’s romantic. It helps the reader accept it as non-romantic, too. Maybe someone can say, “You two are like siblings” or “You always have each other’s back.” Reinforce the type of love.

6. Give them conflict—but let them choose each other

Don’t make it perfect. Platonic love, like any bond, includes disagreement. But when they still come through for each other, that’s what makes it powerful. Maybe one apologizes without ego. The other forgives without resentment. That’s platonic strength.

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Platonic relationships aren’t the backup to romance—they’re their own kind of energy. They don’t need to be slow-burn romances in disguise. Let them be bold, soft, loud, or quiet—but most of all, real. Because at the end of the day, platonic love deserves to be written with the same depth, stakes, and tenderness as any love story.

[purtlebloup]

I try to think about worldbuilding in terms of narratives. Like, I'll come up with some fun concept I want to explore in a setting, and then from there, I try to write a character that would explore the concept in the most interesting way.

I think this is why people get so hung up on shit like magic systems and divinities. All that shit is very abstract. I need to see how it affects the world through the lense of a fleshed-out character.

[purtlebloup]

[purtlebloup]

Hi Prideknights!

You're based in Europe, right? Could you help out signal-boosting this European citizens initiative to ban conversion therapy in the EU?

https://eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#/screen/home

I don't think I have to explain the horrors of conversion therapy to you, so let me explain how this initiative works.

For it to get taken seriously by the EU, we need two things:

7 countries need to reach the minimum threshold of signatures for their country. We're currently at 6 out of 7! Slovenia only needs 300 more signatures to become country number 7!

We need a total of 1 million signatures. This might look daunting, but there days ago we were still at 200.000. Yesterday we were at 450.00. We are at 535.000 right now. So we have a long way to go, but we are moving fast!

The deadline is in a few days, on May 17.

Anybody with a European citizenship can add their name to the pile! If we reach the right amount, the official citizen initiative will be put before the EU Commission.

With lgbtq+ rights getting rolled back across the world, including Europe, there is no time to lose to demand stronger protections.

MAY 14, 2025 (VERY RELEVANT) SPREAD. THIS. LIKE. WILDFIRE!!!

[purtlebloup]

“Appeal to a wider audience” is corporate lingo for “strip more themes from a piece of media so it’s safer and more sanitized for investors”

[purtlebloup]

NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.

[purtlebloup]

I fucking love repetitive lines that change meaning over a piece of writing yes slay

[purtlebloup]

good….let the spite flow through you….write the new chapter just to take a stand….

[purtlebloup]

[purtlebloup]

a writing competition i was going to participate in again this year has announced that they now allow AI generated content to be submitted

their reasoning being that "we couldn't ban it even if we wanted to, every writer already uses it anyway"

"Every writer"?

come on

[purtlebloup]

How it feels to find a fanfic where your favorite character is going through literally the worst horrors you can imagine

[purtlebloup]

i had a thought of "do people not know what AUs are anymore?" and then i remembered nobody explains fandom stuff to new people anymore so it is entirely plausible people genuinely don't know what AUs are and nobody has explained it to them, so for today's lucky 10,000:

"AU" stands for "Alternate Universe" or "Alternative Universe" (same difference) and is basically any thought scenario for a fandom that isn't canon and can't fit within the canon universe. If it takes place in the canon universe but something is notably different, that is typically what's known as a "Canon divergent AU," because it diverges from canon.

an AU can be absolutely anything. There's a couple of widespread pan-fandom au scenarios that often get thrown around, like coffee shop aus, genderbend aus, hanahaki aus (hanahaki is a whole thing in itself i'd recommend researching on your own), etc. One you might hear sometimes is "crossover AU" which is when you have characters from one fandom interacting with characters from another.

You can have as many aus as you want. They can be whatever you want and you can do whatever you want in them. It's a sandbox for you to play around in and explore how things would be different or how the characters would act in those circumstances or environments. Maybe they have different relationships with each other. Maybe they behave slightly differently. Or you can just say "Okay, [x] is true. How did they get here? How would things have to be different for this to occur?" which can also be fun.

If you are ever confused about why people ship something that seems completely out of the blue or doesn't make sense to you in the canon setting, there's a good chance they like it in an AU setting! Not everything everybody is interacting with is necessarily the canon! Not everybody wants things to exist in canon and just want to explore playing dolls in a different sandbox and that's okay. And their sandbox might look a lot different than yours, and that's also okay. You have the freedom to make your sandbox whatever you please. Do whatever you want forever. Get funky with it. AUs are fun.

Okay that's my schpeal. everybody go have fun and play nice now.

[purtlebloup]

My respect goes out to everyone who writes fanfiction. Whether you're crafting epic sagas, filling in missing moments, or just having fun with an AU, it takes so much creativity and dedication to bring those ideas to life.

Writing isn’t easy—finding the right words, keeping the momentum, and sometimes just convincing yourself to start can be a challenge. And yet, fanfic writers do it anyway, pouring love into their stories, expanding worlds, and giving us all something to obsess over.

I’ve even tried writing myself, and let me tell you—it’s hard. I don’t know if I can keep it going, and now I completely understand why there are so many unfinished fics out there. It takes so much effort to see a story through to the end, and honestly? That makes me respect fic writers even more.

So if you write fanfiction—whether you share it or keep it to yourself—just know that it’s appreciated. You’re amazing. Keep writing.

[purtlebloup]

Write it shitty, write it scared, write it without a clue but don't you be so spineless and have an AI write fanfic for you.

[purtlebloup]

a lot of stories treat romance like it makes the relationship between two characters self explanatory and to be honest it doesn’t

[purtlebloup]

I would love to see a fantasy novel where the lore that the reader / protagonist learns at first is not true

[purtlebloup]

the suffering never ends